Auto-enrolment pensions are a Government initiative in which employers are now required by law to enlist employees into a pension scheme when they start, and pay into this pension scheme themselves. The initiative was rolled out in stages, beginning October 2012 and making its way through the UK in stages. It was finally made compulsory in February 2018, meaning that all employers in Melton Mowbray should now have implemented the measure.
Changes to auto-enrolment pensions in 2019
As of April 6th 2019, the minimum contributions which need to be paid into the pension scheme will rise from 5% to 8%. It is up to you as the employer to ensure that these increases are applied in time.
When your accountant is calculating the total from which to take contributions, as well as payroll, they need to consider:
The employer minimum contribution is increasing from 2% to 3% and staff are required to make up the difference. However, employers are also welcome to make a bigger contribution and meet the entire amount so that staff don’t have to pay anything. This is at the discretion of the employer.
Re-enrolment
As a mandatory initiative, the Government expect employers to reassess the pension scheme every three years and automatically re-enrol any staff members who have ceased active membership to the scheme. The cut-off point for this is up to three months after the three year anniversary of your automatic enrolment.
In order to do this, employees will need to:
Assess who is eligible. Eligible employees normally work in the UK, earn above £10,000 a year and are over 22.
Re-enrol eligible staff members, to take effect from your chosen enrolment date.
Write to staff to inform them that they have been enrolled.
Complete the re-declaration of compliance, and file it with the Pensions Regulator within five months